Contrasting Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) and Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN)

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) and Auburn National Bancorporation (NASDAQ:AUBN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Regions Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Auburn National Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Regions Financial pays out 46.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Auburn National Bancorporation pays out 52.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Regions Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Regions Financial and Auburn National Bancorporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regions Financial	22.49%	13.05%	1.40%
Auburn National Bancorporation	16.42%	8.48%	0.71%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Regions Financial and Auburn National Bancorporation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regions Financial	2	6	8	0	2.38
Auburn National Bancorporation	0	1	0	0	2.00

Regions Financial presently has a consensus price target of $28.93, suggesting a potential upside of 1.45%. Given Regions Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Regions Financial is more favorable than Auburn National Bancorporation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.4% of Regions Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Regions Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 25.1% of Auburn National Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Regions Financial has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auburn National Bancorporation has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Regions Financial and Auburn National Bancorporation”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regions Financial	$9.37 billion	2.67	$1.89 billion	$2.27	12.56
Auburn National Bancorporation	$42.21 million	2.13	$6.40 million	$2.05	12.58

Regions Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Auburn National Bancorporation. Regions Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Auburn National Bancorporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Regions Financial beats Auburn National Bancorporation on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services. It serves corporate, middle market, and commercial real estate developers and investors. The Consumer Bank segment provides consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, consumer credit cards, and other consumer loans, as well as deposits. The Wealth Management segment offers credit related products, and retirement and savings solutions; and trust and investment management, asset management, and estate planning services to individuals, businesses, governmental institutions, and non-profit entities. It also provides investment and insurance products; low-income housing tax credit corporate fund syndication services; and other specialty financing services. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About Auburn National Bancorporation

Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for AuburnBank that provides various banking products and services in East Alabama. The company offers checking, savings, and transaction deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial, financial, agricultural, real estate construction, and consumer loan products; and other financial services. In addition, the company offers automated teller services; debit cards; online banking, bill payment, and other electronic banking services; and safe deposit boxes. Auburn National Bancorporation, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Auburn, Alabama.